"What happens when we read imaginative literature? What do we learn from reading such texts? Reading complements our experience, sharpens our perceptions, gives us insight into how other humans live, enables us to understand other cultures and periods, and gives us aesthetic pleasure. In Defense of Reading: Teaching Literature in the Twenty-First Century is a defense of the pleasures of reading. The author - influential and award-winning literary critic Daniel R. Schwarz - shares his insights on why we read, how we read, and what transpires when we undertake what he calls "the odyssey of reading."" "Other topics covered include the art of teaching, humanistic criticism, and the history and future of studying literature. The author explores various forms of resistant readings and discusses changes in reading, writing, and teaching in the electronic age . The book concludes with an optimistic look into the future of literary studies." "In Defense of Reading embraces the joys of the written word while teaching us to be better readers. Schwarz's book imparts wisdom that will resonate with teachers and lovers of literature everywhere."--Jacket.